Door construction



W. E. HERGENRATHER Sept. 19, 1944.

' DooR coNsTRUcTIoN Filed. April a', 1941 2 sheets-sheet 1 Sept 19, 1944 w. a HERGENRATHER y 2,358,639

g DOOR CONSTRUCTION UNITED i' Doon CONSTRUCTION William E. Hergenrather, Dayton, Ohio Application April 3, 1941, Serial No. '387,395 i 1 claim. ici. 21j-16). Y

This invention relates to so vcalled over-head door constructions suitable for ruse 'in garages -and other places where such types of doors can Vbe used.-

There are several types of over-head `doors now on the market and some of them are rather 'hard to operate at times and many of them have complicated xtures attached thereto to operate said doors. Also many of such doors are made in several hinged sections, 'varying from two -to five. All this makes for expensive manufacture and is conducive to hard action at times. Moreover, in such doors there are many partswhich may cause the doors to get out of proper wor-king order comparatively easy. Therefore, it is an object of my -invention to 1produce an over-head `door which is very easy to operate and inexpensive to manufacture. Y

Another object is to provide a novel door construction which will not warp or get out of alignment, which often happens due to stresses and strains to which many of the doors'now -on the market are subjected, when being opened and closed.

A further object of my invention is to provide a novel construction of mounting the door and arranged so as to eliminate any excessive friction during the movements of the door from closed to open position and vice-versa.

' A still further object is to provide a nove1 counter-balance arrangement for the door which arrangement'gives the maximumV factor of safety.

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel over-head door construction, whereby there is no direct pull on the door when opening or closing the same. i

With these and yother incidental objects in view, my invention includes certain novel features .of construction and combinations of elements, the essential parts of whichl are set forth in appended claims, and a preferred form or embodiment of which is hereinafter described with reference to the drawings which accompany and` form part of this specification.

-Of said drawings:

Fig. 1 is an elevation, partly in section showing in a very much reduced scale, my novel door construction, with the door in closed position.

Fig. 2` is an enlarged section on line l2--2 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 3 is a still further enlarged view showing a portion of one of the mounting brackets and its hub bearing. .I a

Fig. 4 is a section on line 4-4 of Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows.

ing inthe direction of thearrows, andalso shows is fully closed.

f Fig. f5 is' a plan View of 'the cablesupport and pick-up arm. f

Fig. 6 is 'a rear viewof the'same. Fig. 7 is a side elevationof the same. y Y Fig. 8 is `a section o'n line 8-8 of Fig. 1,'y lookthe pulleysv and counterweights in plan views.' A

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary view showing howa part of the weather strip is onv-thedoor and a part of said weather strip is von the door side'jam.

Fig. 10 is a skeletonized viewof Ithe 'door and its mounting, and shows the door in its'full open position, -in full lines, and 'in vthe position 'where the pick-up arm picks Vup the cable to check any undue momentum as the door is being closed, and to balance the door from this point until it Fig. 11 showsl how my novel. door construction can be operated by power means to open the door when it is closed, and act as a brake, and

balancethe door when'the powerv means is reversed to close thefdoorafter it has been opened.

General description f Described in general lterms my novel door construction is pivoted near each side thereof to vswing over-head, by means of brackets attached to the door. Each l`bracket is provided witha bearing 'hub mounted on bolts in posts arranged Vin the gara-ge.` Each 'bracket has secured thereto a cable pick-up arm to support'the cable'from the time the door is closed until it is quite near the dead center,v at which time the arm leaves the cable and the doorvcontinues'on past the dead center due to the momentum it has gained during its upward thrust while opening. After leav;

ing the pick-up arm -the cable pull is directly on v the bracket, and'notv on the door, and therefore the door will not warp or become out of align;- ment due to vstressesl land strains usually attendingV the movements of door of thistype. As the door is started on'its downward movement in the act of closing, as soon as it gets a very short distance past the dead center, the pick-up arm picks up the ycable and acts as a snubber to prevent too much jar when the door is forced downwardly at too rapida speed. The counter weights being fastened to the two cables act asa full counterbalancer and the door can be Vstopped in any position after the cable pick-up arm has contacted the cable, dueto the particular location in ywhich the pick-up arm' isV placed relatively to the door mounting. l*

While I have shown and described a garage doo1',-I do not wish to limit my invention to such specific doors, as it is susceptible of embodiment inother doors for other purposes without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Detailed description Referring to Figs. 1, 8 and 10 I have shown a garage door 20, and the usual right side door jam 2|, left side door jam 22, and top door jam 23. On top of the jamV 23 restY two stringers 24 and a plate, 25 to support theV front ends of roof rafters 26 supporting 'afcomparatively flat roof 21. The floor is indicated at 26 and the .usual apron at 29. Two -posts 30 and 3| are secured in the oor 28 and are fastened to the rafters 26.

There is secured to the door 2D neartheV top.

and sides thereof, brackets 35 and 36.v Both the secured to a counter weight 11 to assist in balancing the door while being moved and assists in holding the door 20 open when the latter is wide open. The hanger 1.6 is supported by one of the rafters 26.

The pick-up arm 61 has a base 80, a vertical section (not shown) and a channel 82 to receive the cable 6|. The base 80 rests on and is secured to the bar 52 of the bracket 35, preferably by welding. From the channel 82A the cable 6| passes over apulley 85 vcarried by? aj hanger (not shown, but like the hanger 16), and is secured to a counterweight 81 which'also assists in balancleft hand bracket 35 and the right hand bracket 36 are shown in Fig, 8; the right hand bracket 36 ing the door 20 and assists in holding the door in its wider open position.

For further reference in describing the action of my novel door construction a Vertical center line of the hubs 50 and 55 is designated as 96 is also shown in Fig. 1; and a portion of saidKV V2|). Securely fastened -tothe fvertical bar v4|), by

welding or any other suitable means, is a horizon- -tal barre-4|;and two other bars 42 and 43. The bars 4|,.42 -and-43 are in ralignment as shown in Fig. 4', and-they are also -welded together along the joints, 4 4,and 45. fr Y The three bars 4|,. 42 and. 43 are secured to a bearing `hub V50, by welding or any other suitable means o f Vfastening-may be used:

The left jhandbracket 35V is comprised of aver- -ticaljbar 5| f(Fig.--8), Va horizontal bar (not shown)lbut like the bar 4| of the bracket 36; vand two bars 52, only one of which is shown. `The last mentioned horizontal bar and the two bars 52 are .welded'together'like the bars 4|, 42 and 43, and .are also welded to a-bearing hub 55. Y

The bearinghubs50 and55 are mounted o bolts 56 (Figs -3,4 and 8)- said bolts having shoulders 60 abutting washers 51 and are heldin position by nuts 58 drawnup against Washers 59. The shoulders 60 are slightly longer than the ,bearing hubs- 50- and ,55 'so that thelbrackets` 35 and 36 can-'swing'` freely thereonfnotwithstandjnggthat the nuts '58 are drawn up very tightly against the washers 59, 'the head of the bolts 56 acting .as lateral spacers for the .brackets Vand through '.said brackets acting as aligning means forthefdoor` 20,7The -heal ofr the bolt 56 holds These when the door-20 is closed but-also during all of :the time that said door is being moved from an `openjto a closed position-and from a closed to an Y.

Fig. '1,1 where-the cable 62 is'fastened to the bracket 36. V-Howeverthe other cable 6| (Fig. 8) is fastened to -the cable at the same relative point.AV

The cables run upwardly over pick-up arms 66 and 61 (Figs. V1 and 8). Valso shown V indetail in Figs. `5,V 6 and 7. This armv 66-has a base 1|)` by means of which it rests on and -is secured to the bar 42 Yof the bracket 36'preferably `by welding. A vertical section 1| of the arm 66F rises abovethe door 20 and has a channel=12 formed thereon to receive the cable '62. Thisarmp66 is also preferably made-of angle-iron,

From-the channel 12 the cable 62 passes over a pulley 15 carried by a hanger 16; The cable 62 is The pick-up arm 66 isand the horizontal center line of said hubs is designated 9|. The vertical line 90 will be known asthe dead center line. y v yWhen the door 20 isV to be opened, the bottom part thereof is;moved to the -right (Fig. 1) Whereupon the entire door 20 and brackets fastened thereto, pivots onv the bolts 5B rby means of the bearing hubs 50 and 55;,"k f

When the door 20 reaches the position shown in dot-,and-dash lines (20) of (Fig. 10) the pickup arm channels 12 and 82 leave the cable 62, which then is in the dot-and-dash position of Fig-.110. Y At this time all of the pull of the cables 6| and 62 is directlyfrom the points 63 where said cables 6| Vand 62- are secured to the brackets 35 andY 36. VPrior to this time all of the` pull of the cables 6| and 62 -hasbeen over the channels 12 and 82 of the pick-.up arms 66 and 61. There is no direct pull on the door 2,0'proper, and therefore there isi-no stress or strain put on the door .20, thus eliminating all danger of'warpingthe Y door and/,or pullingit out of its proper alignment relative to the door jams 2|, 22 and V23, and also the oor 28 and apron 29. 'y i f Usually during the normal operation of opening the door 2B the operator gives the door a shove or push and bythe time the door reaches Vthe-dot-and-dash position of Fig. 10 it has gained suflicient momentum to carry it to the full open position shown by'full lines in Fig. 10. In mov' ing to this full line, or fully opened position .the horizontal centerline 9| passes the dead center line 93, and consequently the door 20 is held in thisposition by the counterweights 11 and 81. Due to the fact that the horizontal line 8| is past the fdead center line 90 the door 20 cannot come down of its own weight even though the bulk of the weight of the door is normally below the horizontal line 9|.

When the door 20 is closed, that is moved from its fully opened position to its closed position, it is rst'moved from the full line position-of Fig. I0 to the dot-and-dash position of Fig. |0, at which point the channels 12 'and 82 -of the pick-,up arms 66 and 61, respectively, pick up the cables 62'and 6|, 'thus checking any undue momentum and balance the door 26, under the `influence of the counterweights 11 and 81, from thisA point until the door 20 is fully closed.

Y Movement of the door 2|] can be stopped at any point in its travel and it Will stay in such position until again moved by the operator.`

From the'above description it can be clearly 'seen that there is no direct pull on the door proper by the cables 6| and 62 during the closingof the door as well as during the opening of the door aS Previously stated. All of the thrusts during all actions of the door 20 are taken on the bearing hubs 50 and 55 against the bolts 56.

To assist the operator in closing the door 20 there is attached to the inside face of the doorv a pull chain S3. When the door 20 is in the opened position of Fig. 10,` the pull chain 93 will hang down at right angles, or substantially so, to the face of the doorv in easy reach of the operator, so that all he -need to do is reach up and give a slight pull on the chain 93 to pull the door past the"dead center lineY 90 after which the pull on the door canbe lessened,

whereby said door can be closed very easily.

.As previously mentioned the door v20 can be opened and closed by a power means if desirable, and in Fig. 11 there is illustrated one form of a power means to accomplish this purpose.

Mounted in bearing brackets |00, which may be fastened to any of the usual cross beams of ra garage, is a, shaft |0| having two drums |02 to which are secured the ends of the cables 6I and 62. 0|.

A flexible coupling |03 connects the shaft |0| to a shaft |09 which extends into a box |04 representing a Well known standard gear reduction mechanism. This gear reduction may be one of the standard 48 to 1 reductions. The shaft |03 is connected to this gear reducing mechanism, which also has connected thereto a shaft |05, in turn connected by a flexible coupling |06 to a. shaft |01 driven by a motor |08.

When the door 20 is closed as shown in Fig. 11, and it is to be opened the operator merely pushes a standard electrical switch (not shown) to start the motor |03, whereupon through the means above described the shaft `|0| is rotated with the drums |02 and the cables 6| and 02 are wound upon said cables thus opening the door 20. Y When the door reaches the proper place a limit switch represented by a box ||0 cuts the current to the motor and it stops with the door 20 fullyopeed.

To close the door 20 the operator presses an- Y other standard switch to reverse the action of the motor, Vwhereupon the door 20 will start downwardly due to the fact that there are no counterweights 11 or 81 used with the motor operator.

The door 20 cannot fall because the gear reducing mechanism |04 now acts as a brake and lets the door come down easily until it is fully closed. Y

The drums |02 are fast to the shaft In order to Vmake a. tight fitting jobof the door 20,71 have provided weather strips on each side along the lines of the door edges and the jamsr2| and 22. However since this type of door swings outwardly, the weather strips are divided as shown in Fig. 9. One strip is secured to the inside of the door and overlaps each side thereof. This strip is bevelled as vat 2, Vthe lowermost point of the bevel being at the horizontal center line 9|, since from this point upwardly the strip does not pass beyond the lines of the jams 2| and 22. The lower part of the strip ||3 is bevelled to lit the bevel ||2. This strip ||3 is secured to the inside of each of the jams 2| and 22 and of course is stationary. Since a full description of the operation of my novel door construction has been given along with the detailed description, it is not thought necessary to repeat that operation at this time. While the form of device `herein shown and described is admirably adapted to fulfil the objects primarily stated, it is to be understood that my invention is not limited to the form shown, as other forms, all coming within the scope of the claim which follows, may be used without departing from the spirit of my invention.

What is claimed is: y A movable panel supporting a bracket therefor rigidly secured to the panel; any upright member; a bearing integral with the bracket and pivoted on said member; a cable guiding and supporting device carried vby the supporting bracket adjacent the top thereof; a cable se cured to the bracket at a point substantially on a horizontal center line passing through the bearing; said cable running from said point up and over said device whereupon all of the thrust accompanying one movement of the panel is against said device until the point of attachment of the cable to the bracket nears the vertical center line passing through said bearing, at which time the device leaves the cable and the thrust is transferred to said point of attachment until the panel reaches the end of its movement at which time the point of attachment is past said vertical center line, and as the panel is returned to itsnormal position the guiding device again contacts the cable after the point of attachment has moved in the opposite direction past the vertical center line to transfer the thrust from said point of attachment back to the guiding and supporting device until the panel reaches its normal position.

, WILLIAM E. HERGENRATHER. 

